The last day apparently.
After what happened the night before, we took it easy. Woke up 9ish, wifi, then went out for a bit of walk and lunch... nothing much to be honest. But during lunch, kids were coming up to beg for food and drinks and it really spoiled the mood. I couldn't finish my plate of rice, so ended up feeding them with it.
Ou Hok was happy to send us to the airport that day, Munky & Monkey initially wanted to buy him over but I knew he would rather send us off!! ;) Anyway the boys wouldn't dare to, he was ours from the start. It was hard to leave, with us screaming goodbye from the Tuk tuk.
Then came the horrific news. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours, meaning we wouldn't get back at the scheduled 10pm! *argh*
We were trying to see if we could extend a night or two by re-booking the flight but no way we could do it:( I was allowed to use the phone to inform friends & family, so I left Munky a message too. They even had a bet that we were coming back, LOL. So we wasted the hours away eating and sleeping at the airport, which was utterly boring except for the complimentary meal we gotten from SilkAir.
It was a long flight as we flew via DaNang (a place I will go next time!), but they did feed us pretty well along the way home.
I got home and I miss the boys terribly!!!! Cambodia!!!
So, where's next?? ;)
p.s: Alex informed me of my typo mistake, which I thought I should voice it out - lazy to modify my entries now! So it's not Munky & Monkey, its Mungo & Monkey! He wants to be the Mungo.
Showing posts with label cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cambodia. Show all posts
8.8.08
Siem Reap Chapter IV - My 3 boys
My 3 bodyguards. LOL. It looks like, but doesn't really feel like. These boys are still boys.
Anyway, I was saying Munky & Monkey arrived... we just chilled out in the room, talked a lot. They seemed to hit it off with C, so it was all good. We talked about the day trip tomorrow and all of us could share a taxi. It was a funny feeling to see Munky after 2 years (knowing him for over 7) .
We had some drinks in the hostel, listened to their Laos' stories and then headed out... We went to the night market again, then settled for a dinner with delicious Amok and Aspara dancing later on. It was an early night as these boys had been traveling, and we had a long day ourselves. I was happy to have more friends, the more the merrier...
The following day, before we left for Kabal Spean, a cute Asian girl just checked into our hostel. She chatted up C and was so keen to join us for the trip. The boys were delighted, of course. However, the taxi would only take 4 and poor C was so disappointed! Kabal Spean was a 1.5km climb and it looked easy but was definitely a test for agility and balance. The boys were like monkeys, so trust them in the jungle... Ian was very gentleman though, as he was always walking behind me when we went back down. The two other monkeys... *shakes head*
Curious of what's on top? Well it's a waterfall which is rumoured to purify your sins if you go under it. So a couple of us had a free hair or head wash, except Ian who claimed he is pure enough ;)
After lunch (which we temple-packed from the hostel - pretty neat), we headed for 2 more temples on way back.
1. Banteay Srei (very orange, unique, not too big)
2. Banteay Samre (massive and fun to run about & take pictures but kids are pestering for $; here I met 2 gentlemen who helped me to climb or jump over a gap)
It was also today Munky & Monkey started getting used to being pestered to buy souvenirs, scarves, t-shirts, etc. Poor them! Sometimes they bought it out of sympathy but there were really too many to sympathize with, it really wasn't a good reason to buy. I did it a few times myself, sometimes the kids would cry or put up a tantrum and it really wasn't pleasant. I had been giving out pencils I brought from Singapore, it worked most times... but by this time, I had ran out of them... Too many kids!!
Landmine museum was closed today, because it was voting day for the Cambodians!
Anyway, we headed back for some relaxing time... it was about late afternoon. So we were playing around in the pool, the boys were really good at bullying me - hitting me with the balls. But I got my revenge too. ( Ian doesn't swim.. so he was happy reading his book!)
It was C & my last night in Siem Reap, time flew!! So I said we needed to go party tonight!! However all of us were too comfortable back in the room, Ian took out his juggling balls and showed us his tricks. At about 8, I was starving so we made a move... YES, finally. Alex picked a place for dinner which turned out he was totally dissatisfied with! LOL. Luckily I had pizza and it was great, but still I was hungry... so we went around to some bars, ended up at Temple bar since it had the best deals. I ordered fries and the drinks began to come in...
There was something very wrong with this place. Their service was terrible. They always made mistakes, took the wrong order. As such, my red wine was white... I didn't pursue it further since it would only cause more trouble and alcohol does the same thing to me anyway. But we had our own fun, the boys played pool... Some local women came over and picked them up. We danced. One woman clung onto Munky and even offered free sex, LOL. Too bad, she was rejected and very bitter about it, she thought I was his girlfriend! Funny! I managed to pull the reluctant Munky & Monkey to the dance floor, it was tough! These boys wouldn't move an inch, thanks to those beers & 2 rounds of Sambuca.
I wasn't drunk but they were pretty wasted by midnight. C lost his mind and bit me for fun but he was later very happy with those women on his lap. At about 1, we left... Munky left that woman very sore about the whole thing. The boys each took turns to piggyback me back, still I ended up having to walk half the journey myself!
It didn't end yet! The fun! The boys went crazy, Munky went jumped into the pool at 1am (it was closed), then C followed and stripped everything off. Ian stole his clothes.. it was all very messy.. Haha, so C came up naked and the boys were laughing their heads off. So did I! Christ, now I know the things men do when they are drunk...!!
Anyway, I was saying Munky & Monkey arrived... we just chilled out in the room, talked a lot. They seemed to hit it off with C, so it was all good. We talked about the day trip tomorrow and all of us could share a taxi. It was a funny feeling to see Munky after 2 years (knowing him for over 7) .
We had some drinks in the hostel, listened to their Laos' stories and then headed out... We went to the night market again, then settled for a dinner with delicious Amok and Aspara dancing later on. It was an early night as these boys had been traveling, and we had a long day ourselves. I was happy to have more friends, the more the merrier...
The following day, before we left for Kabal Spean, a cute Asian girl just checked into our hostel. She chatted up C and was so keen to join us for the trip. The boys were delighted, of course. However, the taxi would only take 4 and poor C was so disappointed! Kabal Spean was a 1.5km climb and it looked easy but was definitely a test for agility and balance. The boys were like monkeys, so trust them in the jungle... Ian was very gentleman though, as he was always walking behind me when we went back down. The two other monkeys... *shakes head*
Curious of what's on top? Well it's a waterfall which is rumoured to purify your sins if you go under it. So a couple of us had a free hair or head wash, except Ian who claimed he is pure enough ;)
After lunch (which we temple-packed from the hostel - pretty neat), we headed for 2 more temples on way back.
1. Banteay Srei (very orange, unique, not too big)
2. Banteay Samre (massive and fun to run about & take pictures but kids are pestering for $; here I met 2 gentlemen who helped me to climb or jump over a gap)
It was also today Munky & Monkey started getting used to being pestered to buy souvenirs, scarves, t-shirts, etc. Poor them! Sometimes they bought it out of sympathy but there were really too many to sympathize with, it really wasn't a good reason to buy. I did it a few times myself, sometimes the kids would cry or put up a tantrum and it really wasn't pleasant. I had been giving out pencils I brought from Singapore, it worked most times... but by this time, I had ran out of them... Too many kids!!
Landmine museum was closed today, because it was voting day for the Cambodians!
Anyway, we headed back for some relaxing time... it was about late afternoon. So we were playing around in the pool, the boys were really good at bullying me - hitting me with the balls. But I got my revenge too. ( Ian doesn't swim.. so he was happy reading his book!)
It was C & my last night in Siem Reap, time flew!! So I said we needed to go party tonight!! However all of us were too comfortable back in the room, Ian took out his juggling balls and showed us his tricks. At about 8, I was starving so we made a move... YES, finally. Alex picked a place for dinner which turned out he was totally dissatisfied with! LOL. Luckily I had pizza and it was great, but still I was hungry... so we went around to some bars, ended up at Temple bar since it had the best deals. I ordered fries and the drinks began to come in...
There was something very wrong with this place. Their service was terrible. They always made mistakes, took the wrong order. As such, my red wine was white... I didn't pursue it further since it would only cause more trouble and alcohol does the same thing to me anyway. But we had our own fun, the boys played pool... Some local women came over and picked them up. We danced. One woman clung onto Munky and even offered free sex, LOL. Too bad, she was rejected and very bitter about it, she thought I was his girlfriend! Funny! I managed to pull the reluctant Munky & Monkey to the dance floor, it was tough! These boys wouldn't move an inch, thanks to those beers & 2 rounds of Sambuca.
I wasn't drunk but they were pretty wasted by midnight. C lost his mind and bit me for fun but he was later very happy with those women on his lap. At about 1, we left... Munky left that woman very sore about the whole thing. The boys each took turns to piggyback me back, still I ended up having to walk half the journey myself!
It didn't end yet! The fun! The boys went crazy, Munky went jumped into the pool at 1am (it was closed), then C followed and stripped everything off. Ian stole his clothes.. it was all very messy.. Haha, so C came up naked and the boys were laughing their heads off. So did I! Christ, now I know the things men do when they are drunk...!!
Siem Reap Chapter III - Munky & Monkey
And we made it!
4am, I was awake. The American brothers returned 3ish daily, so I used them as a rough estimate when to get up. But it was their last day, we'd have new roommates later today.
Sunrise @AngKor Wat was breathtaking... the morning fresh air, the light breaking in and it was serene despite a whole lot of tourists slowly trailing in to witness the same sight. I'd never regret waking up that early, and it was worth it - really! The beautiful colors, very blue and purplish... with slight tinge of yellow (on the contrast, friend B showed me his picture of sunrise which was very much reddish - guess it is still magnificient throughout the year, with its varying colors).
Dawn broke over AngKor Wat.
C was hungry so we went for breakfast, sat there for a while where I watched the local kidsrunning up and down in the restaurant.
Ou Hok drove us to AngKor Thom where we would finish Bayon and its surroundings. There is a saying "Save the best for the last" and indeed the last is really the best. I heart Bayon, the temple of Buddhas. The big faces of Buddha can be seen at every corner and you can't just not love it. My camera continued to be cranky but I didn't let it ruin my mood, continued to enjoy the sights and sometimes my little Lomo Fisheye got around on his feet.
There I bumped into an Australian (old man) whom I asked a favour from the day before (to help me take a picture). So we just kept bumping into each other, sharing our favourites of all the temples :))
A few places we saw in AngKor Thom:
1. Bayon (LOVE it! Buddha and its many faces)
2. Tep Pranam (a huge gigantic Buddha statue)
3. Baphuon (under restoration, no entry)
4. The Elephant Terrace
5. Phimeanakas (one of the highest climb... not much of a sight up there but more of a challenge to go up!)
6. Terrace of the Leper King (another very impressive one, must see)
And next, we left AngKor Thom:
7. Ta Keo (we didn't go up, Ou Hok told us it wasn't completed as lighting struck the temple during the building and it's said to be a bad omen to complete it)
It was enough temples for the 2 days, considering C wanted to do a daytrip tomorrow, I figured we better be having some rest that afternoon. It was an hour before noon, so Ou Hok brought us to see a few places, a workshop where they made the statues and some souvenir places. We also requested him to take us to a place we happened to catch sight of, where they commemorate dead soldiers with all these statues of 5 headed snakes/serpents named Nāga (if I'm not wrong). Right by the memorial place, there was a stretch of local market, being adventurous we did a quick browse and I bought my cheapest lunch there (quite risky, still wondering if I gotten food poisoning from that).
p.s: Found this online - "In Southeast Asian mythologies, the Nāga is revered as the original ancestor of the Cambodian people"
C headed back to hostel, while I carried on my little adventure on my own in Old Market area, had a fruitshake while I sat and people-watch, bought some yummy looking pastries from Blue Pumpkin. Got back to the hostel, wi-fi for a bit, ate the lunch (mmm quite an experience), dipped in the pool for a bit before we decided for a little nap... Munky & Monkey were arriving that afternoon.
At 3pm, I was awoken by some noises. Some new people just checked in (in our room)... I was half asleep. I took a peep under my pillow, and was smiling sneakily when I saw that familiar face! I pretended to sleep. Stole a few glances, by this time, he had realised it was me! So I showed my face and asked Munky (Alex),"What are you doing in my room???" It was a pure coincidence because he happened to book the same hostel (before he got my message) and then we didn't even pre-arrange to have the same room but ended up in one. Lucky indeed. So I shared the room again with 3 men (2 Americans left, so replaced by 2 Britishs whom didn't leave their stinking socks around). But they are all my friends, so it was like our little private room - aw, isn't it FUN!
Monkey is Munky's mate, Ian. I shall continue in a bit...
4am, I was awake. The American brothers returned 3ish daily, so I used them as a rough estimate when to get up. But it was their last day, we'd have new roommates later today.
Sunrise @AngKor Wat was breathtaking... the morning fresh air, the light breaking in and it was serene despite a whole lot of tourists slowly trailing in to witness the same sight. I'd never regret waking up that early, and it was worth it - really! The beautiful colors, very blue and purplish... with slight tinge of yellow (on the contrast, friend B showed me his picture of sunrise which was very much reddish - guess it is still magnificient throughout the year, with its varying colors).
Dawn broke over AngKor Wat.
C was hungry so we went for breakfast, sat there for a while where I watched the local kidsrunning up and down in the restaurant.
Ou Hok drove us to AngKor Thom where we would finish Bayon and its surroundings. There is a saying "Save the best for the last" and indeed the last is really the best. I heart Bayon, the temple of Buddhas. The big faces of Buddha can be seen at every corner and you can't just not love it. My camera continued to be cranky but I didn't let it ruin my mood, continued to enjoy the sights and sometimes my little Lomo Fisheye got around on his feet.
There I bumped into an Australian (old man) whom I asked a favour from the day before (to help me take a picture). So we just kept bumping into each other, sharing our favourites of all the temples :))
A few places we saw in AngKor Thom:
1. Bayon (LOVE it! Buddha and its many faces)
2. Tep Pranam (a huge gigantic Buddha statue)
3. Baphuon (under restoration, no entry)
4. The Elephant Terrace
5. Phimeanakas (one of the highest climb... not much of a sight up there but more of a challenge to go up!)
6. Terrace of the Leper King (another very impressive one, must see)
And next, we left AngKor Thom:
7. Ta Keo (we didn't go up, Ou Hok told us it wasn't completed as lighting struck the temple during the building and it's said to be a bad omen to complete it)
It was enough temples for the 2 days, considering C wanted to do a daytrip tomorrow, I figured we better be having some rest that afternoon. It was an hour before noon, so Ou Hok brought us to see a few places, a workshop where they made the statues and some souvenir places. We also requested him to take us to a place we happened to catch sight of, where they commemorate dead soldiers with all these statues of 5 headed snakes/serpents named Nāga (if I'm not wrong). Right by the memorial place, there was a stretch of local market, being adventurous we did a quick browse and I bought my cheapest lunch there (quite risky, still wondering if I gotten food poisoning from that).
p.s: Found this online - "In Southeast Asian mythologies, the Nāga is revered as the original ancestor of the Cambodian people"
C headed back to hostel, while I carried on my little adventure on my own in Old Market area, had a fruitshake while I sat and people-watch, bought some yummy looking pastries from Blue Pumpkin. Got back to the hostel, wi-fi for a bit, ate the lunch (mmm quite an experience), dipped in the pool for a bit before we decided for a little nap... Munky & Monkey were arriving that afternoon.
At 3pm, I was awoken by some noises. Some new people just checked in (in our room)... I was half asleep. I took a peep under my pillow, and was smiling sneakily when I saw that familiar face! I pretended to sleep. Stole a few glances, by this time, he had realised it was me! So I showed my face and asked Munky (Alex),"What are you doing in my room???" It was a pure coincidence because he happened to book the same hostel (before he got my message) and then we didn't even pre-arrange to have the same room but ended up in one. Lucky indeed. So I shared the room again with 3 men (2 Americans left, so replaced by 2 Britishs whom didn't leave their stinking socks around). But they are all my friends, so it was like our little private room - aw, isn't it FUN!
Monkey is Munky's mate, Ian. I shall continue in a bit...
Siem Reap Chapter II - Ms. Piggy & overwhelming temples
YEAH! Sunrise!
SHIT! We saw the sunrise in our hostel room instead. I woke up @545am, to my dismay + shock + OH MY GOD THE TUK TUK DRIVER WAITED FOR US. Geez, I felt so so bad! We were supposed to get up at 4ish and left hostel by 5am to see sunrise. My alarm rang but being such a pig (seriously I was so tired!), I turned it off... THEN I woke up, unbelievably horrified, told C that we missed it and decided to go back to bed and do the normal day thing later.
I was reminded that Ou Hok must have woken up very early to get here @5am,so I put on a jacket, went down with the most guilty and apologetic face ever! I told him,"Sorry, we forgot and overslept! Can you get some rest and come back at 8am instead?" He still gave me a very warm smile and said,"OK, 8am, ok?"
It is going to be a long long day for day 2. We bought the 3 days pass and had a circuit to complete, and keeping the best for tomorrow so as not to overwhelm ourselves. The morning started a little late when C decided to be a copycat. LOL. I bought the headband yesterday and used it as a face mask as the road was super dusty. C wanted to go get one, so we stopped at the market first, bit of haggling, got it then back on track.
I am going to skip describing all the temples, they are stunning... You gotta be there to see them live. But here are the ones we covered (I think):
1. Preah Khan (gotta say I'm quite impressed by the first one already!!)
2. Neak Pean (small & ancient)
3. Ta Som (this is beautiful in its own way, green yet golden)
4. East mebon (my camera started to die on me, really upsetting!! but i got to see them live, the massive elephant statue!)
5. Pre Rup (camera was dying again... but this is another must see!)
6. Sras Srang (believe me, it looks like only a huge pool of water but the image on that camera is going to be so worth it!)
7. Banteay Kdei (by now, I AM a little tired of seeing a lot of the same things)
8. Ta Prom (no one will never miss this, the place where they shot Tomb Raider with all the roots covering the temples' rooftop, yes, very very impressive)
9. AngKor Wat + sunset (flooded with tourists, it was pretty, lots of nice places for pictures but I think I've expected more; people in the temple trying to talk u into leaving your $ to pray to the headless statues - detesting)
Dinner time! We wanted to let Ou Hok end his day by now because of the incident this morning! So we assured him we would wake up the following morning (by hook or by crook) for the sunrise. I promised myself.
It was dinner @Temple Bar, a famous place for travellers. Guess it didn't leave us a very good impression by the end of the trip... LOL. C went for his massage while I headed back alone to watch a DVD - The little Miss Sunshine! No one in the hostel was keen, so had it all to myself accompanied by plentiful of mosquitoes! Cute clever show... I slept very well after that!
SHIT! We saw the sunrise in our hostel room instead. I woke up @545am, to my dismay + shock + OH MY GOD THE TUK TUK DRIVER WAITED FOR US. Geez, I felt so so bad! We were supposed to get up at 4ish and left hostel by 5am to see sunrise. My alarm rang but being such a pig (seriously I was so tired!), I turned it off... THEN I woke up, unbelievably horrified, told C that we missed it and decided to go back to bed and do the normal day thing later.
I was reminded that Ou Hok must have woken up very early to get here @5am,so I put on a jacket, went down with the most guilty and apologetic face ever! I told him,"Sorry, we forgot and overslept! Can you get some rest and come back at 8am instead?" He still gave me a very warm smile and said,"OK, 8am, ok?"
It is going to be a long long day for day 2. We bought the 3 days pass and had a circuit to complete, and keeping the best for tomorrow so as not to overwhelm ourselves. The morning started a little late when C decided to be a copycat. LOL. I bought the headband yesterday and used it as a face mask as the road was super dusty. C wanted to go get one, so we stopped at the market first, bit of haggling, got it then back on track.
I am going to skip describing all the temples, they are stunning... You gotta be there to see them live. But here are the ones we covered (I think):1. Preah Khan (gotta say I'm quite impressed by the first one already!!)
2. Neak Pean (small & ancient)
3. Ta Som (this is beautiful in its own way, green yet golden)
4. East mebon (my camera started to die on me, really upsetting!! but i got to see them live, the massive elephant statue!)
5. Pre Rup (camera was dying again... but this is another must see!)
6. Sras Srang (believe me, it looks like only a huge pool of water but the image on that camera is going to be so worth it!)
7. Banteay Kdei (by now, I AM a little tired of seeing a lot of the same things)
8. Ta Prom (no one will never miss this, the place where they shot Tomb Raider with all the roots covering the temples' rooftop, yes, very very impressive)
9. AngKor Wat + sunset (flooded with tourists, it was pretty, lots of nice places for pictures but I think I've expected more; people in the temple trying to talk u into leaving your $ to pray to the headless statues - detesting)
Dinner time! We wanted to let Ou Hok end his day by now because of the incident this morning! So we assured him we would wake up the following morning (by hook or by crook) for the sunrise. I promised myself.
It was dinner @Temple Bar, a famous place for travellers. Guess it didn't leave us a very good impression by the end of the trip... LOL. C went for his massage while I headed back alone to watch a DVD - The little Miss Sunshine! No one in the hostel was keen, so had it all to myself accompanied by plentiful of mosquitoes! Cute clever show... I slept very well after that!
7.8.08
Siem Reap Chapter I - Mr. Ou Hok
Someone, please pinch me... gently.
I finally logged in!
Enough of my virus stories, I'm back here alive and very eager to write before my memory starts to fade... This is why I need pictures. 5 days in Cambodia, guess what, I have over 600 photos. Not surprising since Ang Kor Wat offers a lot to see :))
Flying on: SilkAir
Destination: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
Duration: 5 days (minus the afternoon on the last day, wasted @airport)
Companion: Mr. C Meyers (American)
p.s: if you're going to ask me how I know him, yes he's a long lost ICQ/AIM friend
p.s.s: if you're going to ask if there's anything between me & him, trust me when I say NO, and yes he is a friend, I repeat, FRIEND - F R I E N D, thanks (it bothers me because everytime I travel with someone new, tongues start to wag!!)
The most welcoming smile I saw when I arrived at Siem Reap airport is our Tuk tuk driver's, Mr. Ou Hok. He had such an amiable face that we almost liked him immediately. I secretly wished this father-like figure to drive us around the next days. And wishes do come true. He worked for our hostel and coincidentally and was available to chauffeur us around - of course, at a daily fee.
And the adventures shall begin...
Our hostel was fabulous, we realised later on it wasn't the cheapest around. At 8USD per head, we could have easily gotten a private twins at only 10USD. But it was the facilities and the place to meet other travelers, I wouldn't give this up over the other choices. There were free wifi, a tiny fun indoor pool, pool table, cheap bar, free DVD rental, free games corner (huge Jenga & darts) and also hammock area. It is cool, very cool.
Our beds are awesome, big wooden bunk beds with solid mattresses. We were in a room of 6, and there were 2 other American brothers. Pretty friendly chaps, only thing that annoyed me a little was the stinking socks laying around... Otherwise, I'm pretty easy with them :)
The late morning, we spent exploring the place, used the pool... just taking it easy. At noon, we had some nice desserts at a cafe - Blue Pumpkin, and then took a little walk around the Old Market and Centermarket. We did the usual haggling, bought some stuff.
Decided not to waste the evening, we asked Ou Hok to drive us to view the Sunset @Phnom Bakheng. It was quite a climb, considering it was before dinner, we were starving by the time we were going back down. The sight up there wasn't magnificient, and were populated with tourists. GOD. Then it rained and people started to disappear... and it was very peaceful suddenly. I love that moment.
We also visited Night market where we came to realise is a much better place than the Old Market and Centermarket, prices are better and we spent less time and energy haggling. I found a very unusual stall selling tea and spices of Cambodia. The guy was very nice, offered me samples, explained the stuff and didn't push me to buying them. I felt a little bad so I bought some Cambodia tea (which is really fragrant!) and lemongrass to go with them. I was so tempted to buy the peppercorns but I don't have the right containers for them :(
It was a good first day and we decided to go for sunrise @Ang Kor Wat the following day.
I finally logged in!
Enough of my virus stories, I'm back here alive and very eager to write before my memory starts to fade... This is why I need pictures. 5 days in Cambodia, guess what, I have over 600 photos. Not surprising since Ang Kor Wat offers a lot to see :))
Flying on: SilkAir
Destination: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
Duration: 5 days (minus the afternoon on the last day, wasted @airport)
Companion: Mr. C Meyers (American)
p.s: if you're going to ask me how I know him, yes he's a long lost ICQ/AIM friend
p.s.s: if you're going to ask if there's anything between me & him, trust me when I say NO, and yes he is a friend, I repeat, FRIEND - F R I E N D, thanks (it bothers me because everytime I travel with someone new, tongues start to wag!!)
The most welcoming smile I saw when I arrived at Siem Reap airport is our Tuk tuk driver's, Mr. Ou Hok. He had such an amiable face that we almost liked him immediately. I secretly wished this father-like figure to drive us around the next days. And wishes do come true. He worked for our hostel and coincidentally and was available to chauffeur us around - of course, at a daily fee.
And the adventures shall begin...Our hostel was fabulous, we realised later on it wasn't the cheapest around. At 8USD per head, we could have easily gotten a private twins at only 10USD. But it was the facilities and the place to meet other travelers, I wouldn't give this up over the other choices. There were free wifi, a tiny fun indoor pool, pool table, cheap bar, free DVD rental, free games corner (huge Jenga & darts) and also hammock area. It is cool, very cool.
Our beds are awesome, big wooden bunk beds with solid mattresses. We were in a room of 6, and there were 2 other American brothers. Pretty friendly chaps, only thing that annoyed me a little was the stinking socks laying around... Otherwise, I'm pretty easy with them :)
The late morning, we spent exploring the place, used the pool... just taking it easy. At noon, we had some nice desserts at a cafe - Blue Pumpkin, and then took a little walk around the Old Market and Centermarket. We did the usual haggling, bought some stuff.
Decided not to waste the evening, we asked Ou Hok to drive us to view the Sunset @Phnom Bakheng. It was quite a climb, considering it was before dinner, we were starving by the time we were going back down. The sight up there wasn't magnificient, and were populated with tourists. GOD. Then it rained and people started to disappear... and it was very peaceful suddenly. I love that moment.
We also visited Night market where we came to realise is a much better place than the Old Market and Centermarket, prices are better and we spent less time and energy haggling. I found a very unusual stall selling tea and spices of Cambodia. The guy was very nice, offered me samples, explained the stuff and didn't push me to buying them. I felt a little bad so I bought some Cambodia tea (which is really fragrant!) and lemongrass to go with them. I was so tempted to buy the peppercorns but I don't have the right containers for them :(
It was a good first day and we decided to go for sunrise @Ang Kor Wat the following day.
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